Dota 2 Couriers and Unusual Effects Explained
How couriers, Unusual quality and particle effects work, and how to judge what one is worth.
Project editor:GrassKnuckles
A Dota 2 courier is a pet-like model that carries items to your hero, and an Unusual courier is a rare version with a particle effect. The effect comes from an gem">Ethereal gem and its colour from a Prismatic gem. To judge a courier’s value, check its model, its quality, the effect and colour installed, where it came from and its 30-day volume.
What couriers do and what custom couriers change
Every match has couriers that ferry items from the base to heroes. A custom courier is a cosmetic you equip in the Courier slot of your loadout. It replaces the default look and changes nothing about how the courier plays. A courier takes on the custom look of the player who controls it.
Ground and flying forms are part of the same courier. Couriers start on the ground and take to the air later. Before patch 7.23 in late 2019, flight was an upgrade the team bought in the shop. Patch 7.23 gave each player their own courier that gains flight as it levels, at level 5 and later level 4 after patch 7.27. Valve can change these rules, so check the current patch notes. Many custom couriers have separate ground and flying models, so preview both. Some also offer alternate styles, such as Radiant and Dire versions of Unusual Jumo.
Types of couriers
| Type | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Standard courier | An ordinary cosmetic courier without a particle effect | Baby Roshan |
| Unusual courier | A rare quality with an Ethereal effect and a Prismatic colour | Unusual Hermid, Unusual Mango the Newt |
| Unusual Greevil | Hatches from a Greevil Egg infused with Unusual Essence | Unusual Greedy Greevil |
| Genuine courier | Given out through promotions and limited releases | Genuine Wyvern Hatchling |
| Legacy courier | An early store courier that Valve later removed from sale | Legacy Enduring War Dog |
| Evolving courier | A Battle Pass courier that changes look as the pass levels up | Hermes the Hermit Crab (2017) |
| Event courier | A courier from a short event, often a very low-chance reward | Dark Moon Baby Roshan |
Couriers also carry a rarity, from Rare and Mythical up to Legendary and Immortal. Rarity alone does not set the price. Baby Roshan and Unusual Baby Roshan are both Legendary, yet the Unusual one sells for many times more. Browse the full list on the courier price page.
Unusual quality and particle effects
Unusual is a quality that adds a particle effect to a courier. No official drop rate is published; Liquipedia and the Dota 2 Wiki list 1–2% for certain treasures. Valve introduced gem sockets in the Three Spirits update of 14 November 2013, which replaced the old Unusual Paint items.
- Ethereal gem: sets the effect. Names you will see include Ethereal Flame, Ionic Vapor, Burning Animus and Trail of Burning Doom.
- Prismatic gem: sets the colour of that effect. Valve turned old paint colours into colour gems and kept the legacy colours, listing about 800 of them.
- Sockets: an Unusual courier has rare sockets for these two gems. A regular courier has no such sockets, so gems cannot turn it into an Unusual one.
Changing a gem is not free. Putting a new gem into an occupied socket destroys the old one. Pulling a gem out needs a Master Artificer’s Hammer and destroys the courier it came from. Read the gem guide before you modify anything.
Where couriers come from
Couriers reach players through several routes, and the route shapes the scarcity:
- Treasures and chests: the main source of Unusual couriers, at a low chance per opening.
- Battle Passes: evolving couriers unlocked by level, plus limited extras such as Ice and Lava Baby Roshan in 2017. Read the Battle Pass guide for the history.
- Events: some events hand out a courier as a very low-chance reward. Dark Moon Baby Roshan came from the Dark Moon event, and Gingerbread Baby Roshan from Frostivus.
- Promotions: Genuine couriers often trace back to merchandise or regional campaigns.
- Other players: older couriers can only be bought from other players, on the Steam Market or third-party marketplaces.
How to judge what a courier is worth
- Get the exact name. Baby Roshan alone covers many editions with very different prices. Match the full name from the listing.
- Read the quality. The Unusual and Genuine pages explain what each prefix means.
- Check the effect and colour. Two Unusual couriers with the same name can carry different gems. Ethereal and Prismatic gems also sell on their own, so you can price the effect part separately.
- Look at the origin. A courier handed out in a short event, or in a fixed number, is scarcer than a treasure drop. Valve’s 2017 list had 100 Drodo the Druffin, 100 Lockjaw the Boxhound, 50 Ice Baby Roshan and 50 Lava Baby Roshan in the Trust of the Benefactor extra-rare pool. The rare couriers guide covers more.
- Check the volume. The item page shows price history and 30-day volume. If an item changes hands only a few times a year, a listing shows what the seller wants, not what a buyer will pay.
- Preview it in motion. Judge the trail or aura at normal camera distance, on the ground and in the air. A quiet effect that you can read at a glance suits a courier you see every match.
For example, two listings can both read Unusual Baby Roshan while one carries Burning Animus in a bright colour and the other a plainer effect. They share a market name, but they are different purchases, so ask for the gem names before you compare prices. Look at the full item name, then the description, and ask the seller for a screenshot of the sockets if the listing does not show them.
The most expensive couriers are Baby Roshan editions. Our most expensive items guide explains why each one is scarce.
Quick answers
What is an Unusual courier in Dota 2?
It is a courier with the Unusual quality, which means it has a particle effect set by an Ethereal gem and a colour set by a Prismatic gem. Only Unusual couriers have the rare sockets for them.
How do you get an Unusual courier?
Open treasures that can contain one, at a low chance, or buy one from another player. Greevils are the exception: they hatch from eggs infused with Unusual Essence.
Can I put an unusual effect on a normal courier?
No. Valve states that Unusual items do not change quality when gems are added, and the rare sockets exist only on Unusual couriers.
What is the rarest courier in Dota 2?
The rarest are limited Baby Roshan editions such as Dark Moon, Desert Sands, Golden and Platinum, plus the fixed 2017 Trust of the Benefactor allocations of Drodo, Lockjaw, Ice and Lava. Which one is rarest depends on how you count copies, so compare them on the item pages.
Are custom couriers pay-to-win?
No. A custom courier is cosmetic only. It changes how the courier looks, never its speed or abilities.
Sources and examples
- Valve: Three Spirits update, unusual effects, colours and legacy gems
- Dota Ledger courier price page
- Valve: 2017 Battle Pass, including the Trust of the Benefactor extra-rare list
- Liquipedia: Unusual quality
- Dota 2 Wiki: Unusual quality and treasure drop chance
- Liquipedia: Prismatic Gem
- Liquipedia: Custom Courier
- Dota 2 Wiki: patch 7.23 courier changes
- Dota 2 Wiki: patch 7.27 courier changes
- Liquipedia: Dark Moon Baby Roshan